


Poor Unfortunate Souls

by LeftestMostSock



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Bad Puns, Blades, Body Horror, Burning, Cannibalism, Character Death, F/M, Future Character Death, HorrorTale, If I miss any warnings lemme know, Malnutrition, Minor Character Death, Multi, Murder, NO FONTCEST, Polyamory, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Reader Is Not Chara, Reader Is Not Frisk, Sawing off appendages, Saws, Souls, Starvation, Torture, Will add more tags as I go along, and cannibalism, both in mind and body, everyone is kinda fucked up from the Horrortale universe ngl, i know they are bad and I am taking this time to apologize, i took liberties with Horrortale designs because I am horny on main, i’m also bullshitting some world building so please message me on tumblr and hold me accountable, losing limbs, lotsa death, maybe smut later idk, reader and basically everyone has ptsd, so I can fix it, this is basically me exploring what makes a ‘monster’ if you don’t mind my wording lol, you knew what you were signing up for clicking a Horrortale fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-24
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:02:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 14,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22882198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeftestMostSock/pseuds/LeftestMostSock
Summary: It’s been a year or so since you’ve been Underground, and you didn’t think things could possibly get weirder than monsters needing to feast on your flesh.Then, one morning, Sans goes down into the basement as a force of habit, pulling a switch that he told you was once supposed to get bring everyone out of the Underground.Well, it certainly brought people out of the Underground, but it brought them here.With the lack of food making it already hard to feed himself and his family, your Sans has no problem dusting the doubles of him in order to not have any more mouths to feed.~The “skeletons all get pulled to one timeline” but since Horrortale is a step off the alpha timeline, everyone gets pulled there instead and has to deal with the consequences.
Relationships: Papyrus (Horrortale)/Reader, Papyrus (Undertale)/Reader, Sans (Horrortale)/Reader, Sans (Undertale)/Reader
Comments: 162
Kudos: 444





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ayyyy pls lemme know what you think of this??? I have a general plot line and instances in my head, but if there’s anything you wanna see, lemme know pls and thank you.
> 
> Also, I know I wanna bring in classic bro’s and swap, and then of course I gotta bring the fell boys. I was thinking Swapfell too, but idk. Is there anyone you guys wanna see?

The day started like any other. 

You woke up slightly to Papyrus untangling himself from around you, as he had curled into you in an attempt to keep you warm at night. You would whine at the loss of warmth, and he would press his teeth to your forehead lightly in a skele-kiss to silence you. You’d find yourself in his arms, head over his shoulder as he carried you like an infant downstairs before laying you on the threadbare couch, tucking you into a blanket with another smooch.

He would then set to the kitchen, busying himself with making a meal out of what was in under lock and key in the kitchen. It was around this time that you would fall asleep again, stirring slightly when Sans would move you so that you were situated on his lap.

Papyrus used to scold his brother for pushing his lazy habits on you, but as weeks passed and it was harder and harder for you to wake, he let it slide, mostly out of concern. Lately, he had been pouring over books dealing with plants and the effects on the human body, but it was hard to find good ones in a very picked over dump.

Not to mention any of the plants that were mentioned in the washed out pages.

Sans would nudge you awake when breakfast was ready, and the three of you would sit around the table and, depending on the day, you would be in either of their laps.

When finished, you would take care of the dishes, giving Papyrus and Sans a goodbye. They’d head their separate ways; Papyrus to check the house, and Sans to the same after a short trip to the basement, where he would flip a switch on the machine out of habit more than anything.

But he would head out soon after nuzzling your head as you finished the dishes. 

He didn’t this time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There’s mentions of eating a rat and eating you in this, but you also knew what you signed up for when clicking a Horrortale centered fic
> 
> Uh, thank you for the positive response so far? I wasn’t sure anyone would like this weird idea of mine, or if it had already been done and it was old hat. So thanks!

You didn’t so much hear Sans’ distress as you felt it. 

One moment you were drying the three sets of dish ware (the only ones they had, Papyrus had traded a pillow for your set), the next you felt the signature static filling the air that you knew was Sans’ magic. 

You felt your strength leave you, the magic he called on nothing simple. Something was wrong, but you found yourself on the floor, not having the strength to investigate. 

~

That was how you once again found yourself on the couch, Papyrus finishing the dishes. 

“How long was I out?” You croaked, wrapping your blanket around you like a cape and sitting in Sans’ chair at the table. 

If Papyrus was startled by your sudden appearance, he didn’t show it. Instead, he handed you a glass of water with one hand, the last dish he was washing in the other. 

“No idea! Could not have been long though, as I was only outside for ten minutes.” 

After putting the dish away, he clutched your chin delicately, as if you were glass. 

“Do you know why Sans pulled so much from you so quickly?”

You shook your head, “No. He hasn’t come up from the basement?”

Papyrus shook his head. 

“If he’s still down there, it must be something important. Especially since he didn’t check the traps, and you know how he is about his schedule.”

You did. With his memory issues, if Sans didn’t have a set schedule, things didn’t…usually go so well. 

You touched your shoulder absentmindedly, divots in the skin reminding you of such a day. 

Papyrus covered your hand in his. It encased your shoulder, his long fingers ending at the middle of your back, and you felt nothing but comfort from him. 

Even when the sharpened tips threatened to cut through your shirt. 

“...I’ll look at the traps. See if anything’s fallen.”

That was a Papyrus Talk for ‘go check on him. He made sure he can’t hurt you remember?’

You remembered.

The steps to the basement were hard to climb down. It wasn’t just because you were weaker than you used to be, but because monsters were so much bigger than the average human, and Papyrus had told you that the lack of food had made their magic warp them further. Sans, ever so eloquent, piped in.

“Th’ bigger the monster, the bigger the prey.”

It certainly explained both of their size, and the size of the steps. You gripped the railing for dear life, knowing that falling down these steps would probably end with your head splattered on the landing below. 

The boys would be devastated, but at least then they’d have something to gnaw on, at least for a while. 

...They hated when you talked like that. 

So deep in your concentration, you didn’t hear the voices rising from the depths below. If you were a little less sane, you would’ve said that they sounded like the skeletons you lived with. 

Did Sans get ahold of echo flowers? Was that what was making those sounds? They were good for lighting, especially since there wasn’t electricity save for the generator that the brothers had donated to the town a while back, but they quickly got annoying with every sound repeated, driving more than one monster insane. So it couldn’t be echo flowers. 

You were reaching the last few steps when you felt another pull on your soul, the static of magic already in the air growing stronger. The surrounding hostile magic felt a lot like Sans’ and… Papyrus? But he was…

“Sans?”

Just like that, the magic disappeared, the feeling reminding you of a rubber band being snapped. You felt Sans still pulling energy from your soul, but you were confused as to why. Wasn’t he alone down there?

“...yeah treat? now’s notta good time.”

You hesitated. If Sans said it wasn’t a good time, that meant it wasn’t safe. You heard the front door squeak from Papyrus returning, and you stepped down another step. 

“We were worried when you didn’t come back up. A-am I crazy or are… are there people down there with you?”

Someone huffed when you took another step, one away from the landing, and you knew it wasn’t Sans. His breathing was deeper, familiar. 

...That wasn’t Sans.

“don worry treat. you’re jus’ crazy. go back to paps.”

Sans code for: this isn’t safe. Find someone who is. 

You backtracked, but found with a wheeze that you couldn’t make it back up the stairs. Sans had drawn too much from you, and you recognized the bone axe that he materialized in his fist. 

You called for Papyrus, starting to crawl up the stairs. 

“Papy?”

“Yes? Is Sans with you?”

“Uh, not yet. But uh, get out the large pot.”

One step. 

“Oh? Did something come up through the floorboards for us to eat? I don’t mind a rat you know. A little stringy, but it does the job!”

Someone flinched in the darkness of the basement, and you crawled up another step. 

“N-no, not a rat. It’s me actually. Sans said I finally went crazy.”

“You wouldn’t even fit in my third largest pot!”

You chuckled, almost missing the next step as you shakily crawled. 

“Awe c'mon Pap! At least let me have some dignity as I die and put me in the largest one.”

“No???? That’s wasteful???? There’s nothing on you but bones and skin???? Barely a broth????”

You were almost to the top at that point when you felt the steady hum of defense magic being readied. 

“Gee, thanks.” You let out a sad sounding chuckle. At this point, Papyrus had come around to see what was taking you so long, and, seeing you spent, narrowed his sockets in suspicion at how weak you looked. 

Then he lifted you from beneath the armpits before maneuvering you to clutch him like a koala. 

“Malnutrition!! Is no joke!! Even if we were going to eat you (which we would never???), you’d at least got to have meat on your bones for a good meal!”

Papyrus grabbed your old coat, more patches than coat by now, and slipped it on you, removing one arm from his neck at a time. 

Sans’ chuckle reached both of your ears. 

“hehe. bone appetit.”

The taller skeleton groaned, and you heard other groans from the basement too??? A growl silenced them, and you and Papyrus looked at each other. You shrugged. The skeleton carried you out the front door, but not without one more suspicious look toward the basement.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uhhhh sans talks about killing someone but again, it’s horrortale. So uh, idk what you expected. Also euphemisms to cleaning up gore.
> 
> Hey if you guys could comment ideas for this fic? I have again, a general idea but who knows it might change.

“I thought you were checking the traps?”

“I was!”

Papyrus paused, before taking a large step over what seemed to be an inconspicuous amount of snow. You never could get him to tell you how he remembered where he had placed all the giant bear traps. 

“...I got worried.” 

You hummed, reaching up to rub his cheekbone. He nuzzled into it appreciatively. 

The cold was already beginning to sap whatever strength you had left, and your skeleton could tell by the shudders you were trying to keep hidden. He huffed, pulling you closer, lifting you slightly in order to push your face into his shoulder where his scarf was. 

Over his shoulder, you watched a pair of eyes vanish into the surrounding forest. Unperturbed but alert now, you tapped Papyrus’ vertebrae three times where your hands looped around his neck. A slight squeeze was your answer. 

Your skeletal ride stopped in front of one of his puzzles, and you released his neck in preparation to be released. Instead, he turned you around, crouching down in front of the contraption in a way that you were sure was extremely uncomfortable. His head settled on  _ your  _ shoulder this time, and you glared at him playfully. 

“I can still stand you know.”

Papyrus mirrored your look, just as amused, if not more. 

“Without shoes?”

The slow ascent of your blush from your shoulders to your ears never ceased to amuse him. He continued, wanting to make you really turn red, and because of the snicker that could faintly be heard from the trees behind them. 

“I may not have shoes that fit these feet of mine, but last I checked,  _ you _ needed protection from the snow.”

It was true. His feet had been warped by his magic. All to make the chasing of prey easier. He still liked to give them a fighting chance, however, but if they ran? There was no chance of them getting away. 

That red he so liked was so bright he was sure it could light up the entire Underground. 

“ _ Paaaapy!” _

He snickered at your expense, hearing peaked by the footsteps walking away. Good. 

His shoulders relaxed slightly, and you smacked them playfully before reaching into the mechanism in front of you to reach where he could not. 

You took a deep breath of the air, fresher than that of the house. This was the only way you got to take it in, so you relished it when it happened, even though you knew the danger that being out here brought to you. 

Too soon you were finished, and Papyrus hoisted you back up, his knees making a loud popping sound. It didn’t faze him however, even as you winced at his expense. He laughed quietly at you, his legs making short work of the distance between each trap. 

Sometimes you would hear or see other monsters in the woods, letting Papyrus know by tapping him. He would slightly change direction every time, his strange legs making it easy. 

You were sure that he knew they were there with his scary-accurate hearing, but humored you anyway, just in case you could see something his shrewd eye lights could not.

Papyrus had legs that reminded you of the hindquarters of an animal, the lack of muscles proving to not be an issue when it came to moving. You shuddered involuntarily at the memory of him, eye sockets empty of the warmth you associated with him as he hunted ruthlessly, his brother behind him dragging his bone axe as he gave the giant skeleton directions to avoid trees and get to you faster. 

Papyrus wrapped his scarf around your neck, thinking that you shuddered from the cold.

~ 

Sans waited till he heard the front door close before he spoke.

  
“so, what brings you to my  _ neck _ of the woods fellas? Other than to give me something to  _ wring _ .”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You stick your hands in mechanisms covered in... remains... and head home.
> 
> Sans is giving other people a bad time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhhh mentions of sticking your hands in human remains and Sans has an axe! I think that’s it. Sans also tries his hand at murder, but that’s nothing new.
> 
> Lemme know what you think of this fic! I’m prob going to be linking/inserting art of my interpretation of the Horror bro’s

They were staring at the hole in his head, that he knew for certain. It was good, actually, gave him time to assess the skeletons in front of him. 

There were three sets looking remarkably like him and his brother, but it wasn’t something he was surprised by. After all, if he was flipping a switch on the off chance that a damned machine would actually work, why wouldn’t other versions of him. 

Sans wasn’t stupid. The hole in his head may have killed his memory retaining ability, but it just forced him to become faster at reading other monsters. 

If you were too slow, you were already dead. He learned this lesson the hard way. 

He could feel magic being made ready in defense, but they didn’t have the home advantage. He readied himself for a Check, spinning the handle of his axe in hand. 

*Sans 

*LV - 54

*HP - 5/0.5

*ATK - 100

*DEF - 75

*will not hesitate to feed his family

Their magic faltered slightly at this information, and Sans struck. For someone so big, he could move quite quickly, the surprise being something he used often to incapacitate prey before they even knew what hit them. With this speed, he moved to the center of the grouping of anomalies, swinging his axe with horrifying precision. 

Those that looked like him grabbed their brothers with the intent to shortcut away, but they didn’t know what Sans had up his sleeve. 

They could only step back in horror as the weapon grazed their fronts, bits of dust hanging where they once were. 

Sans licked the air, relishing in the horrified disgust that all of them mirrored as the dust collected on his tongue. He felt his LV shake, practically salivating at the thought of climbing higher with the dusting of his own counterparts. 

“shouldn’t let prey have magic don’t ya think? lets them think they can get away.”

With a cackle that sounded downright maniacal, Sans lifted his axe for another swing.

~

Papyrus and you were finished rather quickly, which was slightly disappointing. The skeleton holding you seemed to be in a hurry, even as you took your time, pulling out miscellaneous pieces of… actually you didn’t want to put a name to it. 

You wished you had gloves. 

Wiping your hands on the snow to rid them of the rust colored liquid, you studied the arms clutching you tightly. Having arms made of bone would always fascinate you, you think, especially when they were so long they could wrap around your thin form three times if the owner really wanted. Papyrus probably would actually. 

You were up in the air again, Papyrus not even bothering to turn you around this time so you could hold onto him. He really must be worried about Sans, seeing as he practically galloped toward the house again. 

How he managed to be so silent was beyond you. 

You still remembered the fear that filled you when you wouldn’t hear his footsteps, but knew he was there. 

The house loomed in the distance, the Christmas lights decorating the front having been out for a long time. It had a false front door, the real one having been relocated to the kitchen. It was hidden quite well, fitting in perfectly with the surrounding wall. The only way to open it was with blue magic, a magic seal decorating it that only allowed specific soul signatures to pass through its opening.

Poor Papyrus had to duck horrifically low to fit, closing it behind you two with magic. A feeling reminiscent of water washed over the home, sealing it until one of you left again. 

Your skeleton deposited you on the couch, tucking you in with a threadbare blanket like a caterpillar in a cocoon despite your protests. With a pat on the head, he headed down to the basement, ignoring your calls for him to come back as you wiggled in your confinement, trying to free your limbs from their blanket prison.

~

Everyone was frantic, the air filled with their magic and becoming hard to breath. The human upstairs once commented that it felt like breathing in heavy humidity, and although the brothers had no idea what that meant, they had nodded their agreement. 

There was an attempt at a retreat towards the basement exit, but that was what Sans was waiting for; swinging his axe and forcing his alternates to take the defensive route instead of the offensive that they were beginning to see was their only option. 

“SANS! THIS OBVIOUSLY ISN’T WORKING YOU DOLT!”

The skeleton decked all in black stomped the concrete floor, his brother, in the midst of trying to keep them both moving; snapped out and crashed back into the taller one in an action not unlike a rubber band. 

“well what do you want me to do boss?! there ain’t no magic ‘n this fucked up place-“

“YOU DON'T THINK I KNOW THAT?”

“Boss” grabbed the shorter skeleton by his hood, jumping back as another pair of brothers dashed by in an effort to escape to no avail, as the large skeleton with the hole in his head blocked them easily. 

“Boss” had to admit, that under different circumstances, he might have been impressed with a version of his brother’s fighting skills, and would love to spar in order to learn his techniques. 

Not today though. Not when he could taste his own dust in the air from the broken parts of his armor. 

Another version of him tried to talk his way out, his brother tucked under his arm. Foolish. The amount of LV this monster had should’ve clued him in that there was no way out, as with each successful swipe, that manic grin on that large skeleton’s face just grew larger, the jagged teeth seeming to almost split his skull in half with the size of it. 

It was at this point that “Boss” realized what the skeleton’s plan was when he felt his back hit another version of his brother who was holding a sloppy version of himself. It was too late to do anything, however, because as it dawned on him that they were being led to slaughter in one final swipe of that bone axe, blue bones flew towards them all, pinning them to the wall with no chance of escape. 

The Sans’ eye pulsed in a sickening manner as he lowered his weapon. 

“Did you bring guests brother?”

All of the monsters pinned to the wall gasped. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus enters the scene, and responds just as everyone expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uhhhhh warnings for harvesting from your alternate self? Yep. Again, it's horrortale, so you kinda know what you signed up for. 
> 
> I hope this quarantine is treating everyone well, and that you are all staying safe. Thank you for all your kind words and encouragements, they really keep me going :)

Papyrus was many things. He was a fantastic cook (even though a lot of the fantastic came from extreme circumstances), an amazing friend (although he wasn’t sure he really had too many in the first place), a brutal protector of Snowdin (some monsters might disagree with that statement, but they kept it to themselves), the  _ best _ hunter (of humans or otherwise), and the Greatest brother. 

Although, sometimes Sans  _ really _ tried his patience, which he had quite a bit of. The most patience, really. 

This was why he held his nasal ridge between two phalanges (patiently) as he maneuvered down the stairs towards the basement. 

“Brother. I must reiterate this for you again.” 

For the  _ fifth  _ time. He really ought to add it to the ongoing list in Sans’ room. 

“Monster dust does  _ not _ in fact have the same effect on humans as it does on us, and it is a waste trying to force it down their throats, as you have seen, it forces them to vomit it up, which makes them weaker!”

Papyrus focused on keeping the blue bones that he had summoned (with power that wasn’t his) aloft with his own abilities as to not drain his human further. He was Great like that, and very considerate (the most really). He couldn’t call his brother inconsiderate though, as it was hard enough to to get him to remember to pull enough soul power to boost his HP. 

“And don’t think I haven’t seen you sneaking bits of it into the tea I make them! But, back to the issue at hand. I noticed you have, what; six guests? Let’s silence them quickly before anyone hears, or worse-“

He stepped into the basement, coming to stop by his brother, who didn’t spare him a glance, only focusing on the monsters before him. 

“Our human might hear and escape my inescapable trap!”

Sans exhaled air from his nose hole, a stand in for a laugh. He knew  _ exactly _ what trap his brother was talking about, and from experience, knew that you would escape if they gave you enough time. He could just see you wiggling like the world’s most petulant worm. It made him snicker. 

The skeletons pinned to the wall shrunk back at the sound. Cowards. 

Papyrus leaned into the closest skeleton who was dressed in an orange hoodie covered in unbearably sweet smelling stains. Honey. How nutritious! And speaking of nutritious…

Papyrus pat Sans on the back congratulating his thinking. 

“Have you been reading my old-age remedies book Sans? It mentioned how healthy bone marrow is! I’m glad you’ve gotten back into reading, as this was a fantastic idea!”

He pulled back from the now hyperventilating skeleton trying to become one with his honey stained hoodie. 

“Although, you  _ really _ went the long way about it, using Gaster’s old machine. But the efforts paid off! Now,” he grabbed another skeleton’s skull, twisting it this way and that, even as the owner snarled.

“How long do you think we can harvest from them before they dust?”

The skeleton, who looked a lot like Sans if Sans listened to exclusively German Screamo (which had been taken from the dump once, listened to, and then immediately thrown back); snapped at Papyrus’ retreating fingers. 

Delighted, Papyrus gave him a noogie, which just made the golden toothed skeleton angrier. 

“ya freaks can’t-ain’t gonna eat us!”

He was ignored, but not really, as the bones pinning him seemed to get bigger at the mention of freaks. 

Sans rubbed the side of his skull (the one without a hole) sheepishly. 

“can’t uh, really take credit for it paps. jus’ pulled th’ switch.”

Papyrus gave him a soft smile, which could’ve melted the coldest of souls if he wasn’t talking about harvesting from versions of his brother and himself. 

And then he opened his mouth again. 

“Now! Let’s remove their jaws before surrounding monsters think we have food.”

The skeleton in white battle armor began to scream. 

~

You would have thought that Papyrus was a master of burritos with the way he could roll you up. It was his favorite way to keep you in one place and out of trouble, but you suspect that he did it more to entertain his brother, who could watch you squirm out of your prison and then be rolled back in for  _ hours _ .

He was lucky he was cute.

“Oof!” You had rolled off the couch in your latest squirmy activities.

... _ Damn that skeleton and his perfectionist ways. _

Thankfully, without Sans’ laughter distracting you and Papyrus putting the blanket back where you had dislodged it, you were able to actually wiggle out a single arm.

Just one, but it was  _ progress _ .

You heard a scream from the basement and, if your suspicions of who was down there were correct, you needed to hurry. 

You wriggled with abandon now, with an arm to assist you in getting out. The blanket was still incredibly tight, but with assistance, it gave way to your fingers. It fell from you, and you panted at the excursion. 

Your energy levels were getting dangerously low at this point, and with a glance toward the basement door, you had a feeling they were about to get lower. 

~

“I swear! If you really don’t shut up, you’re going to attract something! Something that will not hesitate to eat you!” Papyrus paused, hand over the skeleton that was almost just like him years ago. “Well, won’t hesitate to eat all of us actually.”

“all in a gulp too.”

“Right as always Sans. Has he gotten bigger recently?”

A short skeleton in pauldrons dared to speak up, voice in a stage whisper. “W-who?”

Papyrus removed his hand, waving it like it was no big deal. Inwardly, he wondered if the gloves that the other him was wearing would fit his hands, or, at least cover his palms better than the threadbare ones he wore, even if the fingers had been broken through by his claws. 

“snowman.” Sans answered the loud version of himself, head tilted to the side as if listening for something. “‘m pretty sure ‘e found a den of rabbits yesterday.”

“The one you’d been staking out this week?”

“thas’ the one.”

The Papyrus, spitting out some string from his mouth, recovered spectacularly from his recent bout of screaming. 

“The snowman? The snowman I know wouldn’t hurt a fly!”

A rumble sounded to their right, a sound of rocks grating together and the resulting horrible crunching sound. All skeleton monsters held their breath, realizing just how  _ large  _ the mass was as it passed by. 

When it finally fell silent, Sans cursed. 

“‘e gets closer ever’time. gotta offset his tunnels again.”

Papyrus nodded, slowly getting out of his rigid stance. 

“Can’t let her down here for a while either. At least until we can make sure she is scented properly.”

The energetic Sans furrowed his brows, and spoke, even as his brother tried desperately to hush him. “Forgive me, but who-?”

“Sans!”

Everyone shushed the voice coming from the top of the stairs. 

“Don’t-ugh. Whatever. Sans you better come get me from up here or I’ll walk down myself.”

Silence met that statement. Maybe if Sans didn’t say anything, they would forget he was there and-

“I’ll fall down these stairs so help me Sans.”

Papyrus sighed, holding his nasal ridge between two phalanges. He had straightened to almost his full height, and at that moment, reminded his brother of how he was before. 

“Go get her.” He said, waving his brother off.

Sans began to step that way, before Papyrus’ voice stopped him again. 

“And no shortcuts!” He hissed. “They’re weak enough as it is!”

Ah. Right. He  _ had _ been pulling soul power from them this morning. Shit, no wonder they couldn’t come down the stairs! The power needed to create the ‘no magic field’ was no joke, especially since he had to pull  _ more _ to use his own. There were always loopholes with magic, and using a human’s soulpower to get around a monster magic field was one of them.

Papyrus cleared his nonexistent throat.

Shit. He got lost again. What was he doing?

...Retrieving their human. Right. Papyrus insisted on no shortcuts. Got it.


	6. AN: Quick!! Survey time!!

Hello everyone! No, I am not dead :) I know you expected this to be a chapter, but please!! I need your help!!

this quarantine shit has hit my family pretty hard, and although I won’t go into too much detail, there’s been a death along with another person being given their “estimated time of death.” Took me a while to dig myself out of a rut, but here I am!

anyway,,,,,,,

so, this is a horrortale fic, as you all know. There’s bound to be gore, there’s bound to be some fucked up stuff. My question is, how fucked up are you guys okay with? Kinda like a scale of 1-10,,, with one being very squeamish and the other being nah just hack off a limb with all the gory details

im personally okay with it, but I’m not sure how to continue forward. There’s definitely going to be some scarring moments for these brothers coming up. And reader, but that’s because you guys don’t know their history ;)c

another question! (Pls bare with me-) how do YOU think the reader endeared themselves to the brothers?   
  


and another! (Last one I promise-) I’m having some serious issues giving the classic boys nicknames. I’ve got everyone else figured out, but Classic Sans and Papyrus? No dice. Everyone else basically jumped from the page and shouted their names at me, except for those two. Understandable, considering that it’s usually their universe where these fics take place and they get to keep their names. WELL BE PREPARED TO NOT HAVE YOUR NAME DEAR SIRS-

anyway- thank you so much for reading this fic, and I may or may not have just figured out how to embed images, so hopefully the pic below shows up. Again, I’m horny on main for these boys, so don’t be surprised :’D


	7. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you see some pinned skeletons, and compliment your Papyrus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Regular warnings here; threats of gore (we aren’t there just yet ;) ) and maybe some blades.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who commented! It means a lot to have such a response to this silly fic of mine, and I’ve taken everyone’s responses to heart.   
> There’s gonna be more in the bottom end note, as I don’t want to spoil too much here.

“dang. blankets lost this time?”

Another voice answered him, not yelling, so the others didn’t know what she was saying. 

Except for Papyrus. He could hear everything (he was just that great). He  _ really _ didn’t want them down here, especially with the recent passing of Snowdin’s resident tunnel-maker, but he knew that if push came to shove and the snowman came back; the other versions of his brother and he could be counted on to defend. 

Probably.

Maybe. 

But his human would definitely come down by themselves afterwards anyway. Better to rip the bandage off now as the human would say. Besides, if he knew himself (and he most certainly did), they would try to get them to sympathize with their situation. Too bad, their sympathy was gone with the way they had been living.

And what they were forced to do by their situation.

The smaller version of his brother (from Before), was sweating under his intense stare. Oh stars, he wasn’t trying to scare him!

...okay maybe a little.

“next time i do this, just smack me.” Sans said.

“Sans, you told me to stay away.”

Sans faltered on the stairs, just a second, but the light slate colored blush that decorated his cheeks told you of his embarrassment.

“right. uh, okay. tell Paps to smack me.”

Papyrus turned his head to get them in his sight. “I very much might!” 

They made it to the bottom of the stairs, and you looked at the skeletons pinned to the wall like butterfly specimens. So you were right then. You looked up at Sans, well aware of the eye lights staring at him holding you bridal style.

“Machine?”

“...yeah.”

“But we can't afford more mouths to feed.” At this, you looked at Papyrus, who brightened when you were passed to him. He maneuvered you to be seated on his cocked hip bone, which you would think would be quite bony, but he managed to make it comfortable (he was just great like that).

“Oh, we were planning on harvesting their marrow!”

At this, your brow furrowed. Maybe the marrow would help Sans’ head injury, but when it came to it, you doubted he needed  _ six _ skeletons to do it.

Sans finished tying gags on the edgy pair of brothers.

“s for you treat.”

You pointed at yourself. The large skeleton snickered and nodded before moving onto the others pinned. Papyrus moved your arms to circle around where they could reach on his neck, bringing your attention back to him.

“I’ve been reading those books on home remedies. They said that marrow was good for blood cells! And other things! (Things that I totally understand! Big words!) And since alternate me doesn’t have any of those, they don’t  _ really _ need all that marrow.”

You blinked up at him, mindful of the glares you were receiving from the skeletons from the wall.

You had also read those waterworn pages that he was referencing, but there was one flaw to his logic.

“Paps, those reference pig bones.”

“And?”

“We have no idea what monster marrow would do to me.”

Sans ruffled your hair helpfully.

“probs somethin good.” Papyrus let out a hum of agreement, fixing your hair, and you both watched his brother pull down a bone saw.

You tried to think of something that would stop them from harvesting from their counterparts, but could think of nothing that would appeal to their skewed morality, especially when it came to your declining (you also probably couldn’t think of anything on account of your) health. You knew that they only thought of the present problems, focusing on important things in the now, such as how to keep their small family alive and healthy. Incredibly helpful when it came to survival, but not in situations like this. It was up to you to remember the future, of the terrible consequences that could come from killing another universe’s version of themselves.

They wouldn’t really see the value of looking so far into the future however, much rather focusing on the now, on the lifesaving gift that had dropped into their very basement.

The bone saw that Sans ~~stole~~ owned was incredibly rusted, and it was a miracle that it hadn’t dissolved in a display of red dust. You knew that if the bodies against the wall were human, they wouldn’t die by blood loss, but by infection.

And tetanus. Which was not fun. 

  
Could monsters get tetanus? File that away for something Sans and you can test later.

Papyrus tapped a phalange against his chin in thought.

“Maybe you’re right! Sans!”

The skeleton in question, who was running the saw against the arm of the smaller version of himself (sans the hole) to test its sharpness, merely grunted in response, his hand quickly dropping the arm and darting out to catch the dust falling. He lifted it towards his brother with a slow tilt of his head.

The Sans hyperventilated, snatching his arm back against the wall as fast as he could, sockets dark.

Papyrus licked his teeth, seemingly in a daze, before shaking his head in a jerk.

“Thank you, but you can have it this time. I’ll be able to get some later, seeing as we have a steady supply now.”

You winced are his statement, even though this process had been done multiple times. He pulled you up higher, off his hip, so now you were held aloft only by his grip.

“You get to choose my dear! I recommend _not_ choosing a copy of my brother, because who  _ knows _ ? The shock might just dust them.”

Sans, who was licking his palm, paused with his tongue mid-lick. 

“heh. know m’ so well.”

Papyrus waved him off, but he was obviously flattered. Both you and Sans sent him reassurances of his greatness, you with a soft smile, for a moment forgetting that the monsters in front of you weren’t just a few local surviving Snowdin residents.

“Yes, yes-“ a faint blush the color of days old maple leaves colored his cheek and nasal bones.

“Now choose dearest, though I would recommend the edgy me. He looks like he has taken a few beatings!”

All eye lights (those that were still there) darted to him, while his Sans’ sockets darkened, his small struggles ceasing.

“So what’s the loss of a limb to him, huh?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sans: why’d you call me to the stairs? You know Paps loves carrying you  
> Reader: he would’ve just put me back in a burrito. I know you won’t do it.  
> Sans:  
> Reader: you’re thinking about it aren’t you  
> Sans:...maybe
> 
> Cliffhanger!! Woo! Not really though lol.  
> I think the most gore that will happen in the next few chapters will be pretty quick, seeing as skeleton monsters don’t actually have flesh to saw through ya know? But as for a gore level from 1-10, I’d expect next chapter to be maybe a 4-5?? No blood and guts, but someone’s gonna lose something *shrug*
> 
> Thank you again to everyone who commented their thoughts! I think I might have all the nicknames figured out for everyone, and I’ve taken all recommendations and kept them in a safe little box. 
> 
> As for the gore levels for the rest of the fic, I’m going to always provide warnings, but if I think they will be too spoilery, the details will be moved to the bottom notes, while the gore rating (1-10) will still be at the top. I doubt that we’ll get anywhere near 10, but who knows? It might happen :)
> 
> Thanks again for reading!


	8. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you make a choice from the stock
> 
> Gore Level: ...hesitant 1???

“I mean just  _ look _ at that scratch on his eye socket! 

“I still don’t think-“

“That’s fine!”

“fine.”

“I’ll do the thinking for you. I’m the greatest at thinking.”

“th’ greatest Paps.”

“I know!”

You agreed, although Sans was also very good at thinking, but tried to sidebar the conversation. 

Sans, still preening from the compliment you sent him, went up to the Edgy Papyrus, grabbing a hand. Papyrus came over with you in his palm, bending down and maneuvering you like a waiter holding a platter of food.

“Maybe we should-“

“Wait one moment!” He looked at the Papyrus, who stared him dead on, although you could hear the faint rattling of his bones from nerves. Or that could’ve been his brother, who was also starting to yell through his gag, his intent screaming the obscenities that could not be heard.

“Friend, are you right or left handed? I know  _ I’m  _ ambidextrous, because I have a lot of time on my hands-“

“heh.”

Papyrus continued on without acknowledging his brother, but the slight lilt in your bond gave it away. 

“-but I don’t  _ really  _ want to force you to go through that humiliation you see?” He was speaking as if this was a commonplace visit to the doctor and if it wasn’t so practiced, so  _ habitual  _ to you, you’d be a little unnerved. You were still unnerved, but more because of the alternates thing.

“ow’s about you blink once for lef’ n twice for right.”

This gag had been done plenty of times. Apparently, the thought of removing one thing at a time keeps the HP somewhat level for the captured monster, giving them the slight  _ HoPe  _ that they would  _ get out.  _ They wouldn’t of course, but it was all about keeping them alive so their separate body parts would still be around to consume. 

The monster didn’t really have a choice in what was hacked off first.

Edgy skeleton stared at your boys for a long five seconds, seemingly in defiance (or shock, it was hard to tell with this guy), during which you all stared back, not moving. 

“Dealers choice then!” 

Papyrus grabbed the hand that Sans hadn’t, moving you closer to further examine the stock. The Dark Papyrus was trying to keep his hands in fists, but your Papyrus and Sans were  _ practiced _ . Papyrus’ long,  _ long _ fingers could easily wrap around the entire length of it, holding each finger at the end with the tips of his talons. Sans went the easier route by holding the blade in the Papyrus’ palm in a way that if he tried to close his hand, more than one finger would be missing. 

It was curious. The Papyrus’ hands were clearly sharpened into talons professionally, or at least done with quite a bit of practice; in comparison to Papyrus’ naturally formed ones and Sans’ clumsily filed ones that matched his filed teeth. They were littered with scars, scars that you were familiar with. 

Papyrus leaned over your shoulder, eyes lights seeming to be smaller than before, focused. “You want the one with the longer metatarsal and phalanges. Those are the bones with marrow inside them.”

You nodded, licking your lips absentmindedly. Beside you and unnoticed in your concentration, your boys smiled eerily. 

“did ya notice, treat? ‘is left middle is  _ juuuust _ longer than ‘is right.”

You nodded again, prompting Sans to nuzzle into your neck with a purr. 

Someone along the line of wall prisoners gagged, and all three of your heads snapped to the sound. It made for a terrifying sight, if you remembered, having been on the receiving end of the brothers’ before. Sans smile stretching to impossible lengths as the light in his one eye socket constricted, teeth getting sharper and longer and smile more twisted the longer you looked. Papyrus; with his small eye lights, seeming to burn into your very soul; while his mouth would slowly open, teeth erupting from where they had been hiding in his skull. Both brothers would expose row upon row of teeth, all ready to replace a fallen one in a moments notice. 

You? You had no doubt that you didn’t look quite human anymore, as Sans had assisted you in the sharpening of your own teeth, seeing as Papyrus’ didn’t have the hands for delicate work anymore. 

You didn’t know what looking human really meant, anymore. 

The gagging abruptly stopped, as did the cursing. 

Only the stench of fear permeated the air, crushed by the knowledge that there were true predators in the room, and they were only  _ playing with their food.  _

You were the first to snap out of your hunt-state, turning back to your meal. Your choice was obvious through the bond, and your boys could not be prouder. They were slower to come out of their state, but you knew that it was a thing that they did with all monsters. Establishing the hierarchy, the pecking order. 

Sans was obviously only playing with them earlier after all. 

Papyrus lowered his voice, needle-sharp teeth near your ear, even as his eyes were on another. 

“Excellent choice my dear.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MC: I don’t think this is a good idea, maybe we should-  
> Papyrus: that’s fine!! I do the thinking in this family  
> Sans: it’s true, I’ve never had a thought in my life.
> 
> No gore, but there are threats for next time ;)
> 
> Maybe a 1 on the gore level for just general body horror via brothers font.
> 
> I couldn’t help but post this chapter! I got too excited. It was originally longer, but I separated them because, well, I can lol
> 
> Thank you for reading!!


	9. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gore level: a tentative 6 for bones and not flesh  
> See End Notes for a more descriptive gore level
> 
> In which someone finally gets to eat, even if it’s only a bite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was on a plane all day yesterday (I had an entire row to myself can you believe that?) and worked on this. Wanted to publish, because I just couldn’t wait!

As much as both brothers were tempted to just bite the entire finger off and save them the trouble of trying to collect the tiny amount of dust that would fall from the wound, the chance that they would accidentally swallow the finger was quite high. And although it wouldn’t _really_ be a problem, seeing as they had nine more on just _one_ skeleton, not to mention the line that awaited, they still wanted you to have the first taste. It was for the best after all. 

For some reason, Sans; even with his shaky hands, was the steadiest when it came to preparing the stock. Papyrus could handle the preparation of meals as long as he didn’t need to use anything more complex than a spoon that he could grip with the tips of his fingers (he could cut ingredients just fine without tools thank you), and you just couldn’t hold jack shit for too long without shaking so bad you’d drop it. Such was life. 

Papyrus’ fingers were much too long to even _hold_ the tools needed for such delicate work, and you couldn’t really hold a saw between two phalanges now could you? 

So as Sans brought the small (what used to be an end table) operating table, you could feel Papyrus’ disappointment in not being able to physically remove your food from the stock, just as he always did. 

He was a big provider. Both he and his brother were. 

But he set you down carefully, and diligently held the Edgy Papyrus’ left hand as Sans strapped it to the table with a… scavenged belt from a previous meal. _Very_ carefully they maneuvered each finger under the palm, even as the owner struggled.

Sans gave him an amused look. 

“if ya wan’ to remove more, jus’ keep doin that.”

He didn’t struggle anymore. His brother looked sick. 

Papyrus held down the hand, sans the middle finger, before crouching very low to watch the moment the bone would separate from its owner. 

He was positively jovial.

“It’s my first time seeing the _bone_ separate you know? I’ve always wondered how it’d feel, so make sure you remember okay?” He said, looking up. “I want details afterward.” 

You snickered into your hand, bond between you two filling with affection. He was cute like this, what could you say? 

Sans decided not to comment on the color on his brother’s cheekbones, instead moving the saw to where he was going to cut. 

“ _could_ jus’ snap it, but don’t want ya to go into shock. takes all th’ fun outta it.”

Both you and Papyrus nodded sagely, focused on the procedure in front of you. You moved to Papyrus’ side, seeing as it was getting hard to stand on your own, gripping his shoulder. You would’ve held onto Sans, seeing as Papyrus had been getting to hold you a lot today, but you knew he needed all of his focus to make this clean cut, and your touch would’ve distracted him. 

“Now friend,” Papyrus began, eye lights not moving from the finger, “you might feel a slight-“

_*shhhhnk!*_

“-pinch. Sans! You know I like saying it before you try it the first time!”

“heh, sorry Paps.”

The finger was hanging on by a thin piece of magic, understandable seeing how old the blade was. Speaking of the blade, it was still lodged in there, waiting to be used in the sawing motion it was created for. 

You tore your eyes from the future meal to the Edgy Papyrus’ face. His eye sockets were closed, but the only evidence that he was even in any pain was a slight scrunch of his nose bone. 

Huh. Pain tolerance was high then. You can respect that. 

You glanced at the other pinned butterflies on the wall as your boys bickered, the saw starting to move slowly back and forth through the remaining magic holding the bone together. 

The sound reminded you of trying to mash a utensil in badly made jello, or the sound of someone biting into a very juicy steak. You liked the steak visual better. Actually, you just liked steak. What you wouldn’t do for a steak right now.

The rarer, the better. 

The one thing they all had in common were empty eye sockets. You guessed it was a skeleton thing. Tears were another common thing, but only with the ones wearing armor; being the Before version of your Papyrus and the Pauldron wearing version of your Sans. The other Papyrus was trying to turn into a ball on the wall, bringing up his knees and trying to cover his mouth. You think he was heaving (must be nice to have something to heave). The Before version of your Sans was still staring at your Sans, shaking enough that it was audible even from across the room. 

The Edgy Sans? Was leveling you with the meanest stare he could manage. It made you snort, slightly, because if he thought he was scary, or if you were threatened, he was in for a laugh. 

You’d already dealt with the scariest things in this room, and it wasn’t him. 

Not even close.

A noise of happiness came from Papyrus, and you brought your eyes back to the chopping block just to watch the saw finally go clean through. The finger fell to the table, and began to roll a little to the right. Before you could blink, it was snatched up by Sans, who had dropped the saw and grabbed it. He briefly made eye contact with the donor, before he went to each joint of the finger. 

_*snap*_

_*snap*_

The two long bones he kept in his hand, picking up the tip of the finger and handing it to Papyrus, who was practically vibrating in excitement.

Papyrus grabbed the bone immediately and in a movement almost too fast to see, the bone was behind his teeth, loud crunching noises filling the room as his eye sockets closed in pleasure. 

Both Sans and you watched, affection bubbling through the bond, making Papyrus snap out of his bliss quickly with an embarrassed flush. 

“Not!!! A word!!!”

And then he galloped up the stairs on all fours to the sound of snickers from his bond mates. 

You heard him let out a muted scream (mostly likely muffled by a pillow), before he came back down. 

“I did _not_ forget anything!! Now hush!!” With that, he scooped you in one arm, planting an audible kiss on the top of your head with a “mwah!” sound, before heading back up the stairs on three limbs. 

Sans, now alone with his counterparts, chuckled, rolling the finger bones in his palm. 

The Edgy Papyrus, now down a finger, looked like he was going to be sick. To be honest, they all did. Except for Sans. He was used to it, but he remembered the first time he did something like this, and the mistakes he made because of his then reservations. 

The screams were loud, he reminisced fondly. Didn’t think to use gags that first time, and Paps had been fretting around them, a bunny monster if memory serves, telling them that it would be over soon; if they’d just _be quiet._

They invested in gags that next time. It went a lot smoother. 

Sans let his eye light comb over all of the pinned alternates, thanking the stars that he was lucky enough to have something like this _fall_ to his feet. 

None of them would meet his eye, the Donor Papyrus only staring at the place where his finger would be. The corner of Sans’ grin lifted. 

It lifted even higher when he met the angry sockets of the brother. He laughed, giving them a wave over his shoulder as he turned towards the stairs. When he passed the machine, he gave it a pat. Tomorrow, he was going to do something permanent to keep the other skeletons there. 

Today? He was going to eat with his family. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UF Papyrus can no longer flip off anyone with one hand. Shame.
> 
> Gore level: 6 for removing skeletal appendage and eating it as well as snapping of said appendage. If it were flesh and bone (lol) the rating would be higher I think.
> 
> We have our first victim!! Woo!! Let’s be honest though, our UF Papyrus here probably has done worse things to other monsters for interrogation am I right?
> 
> Now to figure out how to cook things-


	10. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sans goes to a hot joint and has a doggone good time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gore level: uhhhh 7
> 
> See end notes for a more detailed description of gore, and please check the tags! They have been updated, but let me know if I have missed anything.
> 
> Shout out to MayIsTheDay for their most recent comment! It energized me, and gave me the motivation to just blaze through this chapter!

Snowdin was an empty place. The wind howled, a mix of snow and dust spiraling through the air. Anyone who still had somewhat of a mind stayed in their homes unless completely necessary, only venturing out in groups. Those that couldn’t and were foolish enough to venture out anyway only had two options:

To become dust for another monster’s meal, or to lose themselves and forget that they even had a home to come back to.

For that reason, most of the houses were dark, the ones inhabited staying that way as to not attract any unwanted attention. The only place that had any warmth inside was Grillby’s. 

As Sans stepped through the door, the snow surrounding the doorstep began to steam from the horrific heat now leaking out. He shut the door behind him calmly, trying to not make a sound. The soot covered bell above still rang pitifully.

The only monster in the building stood behind what remained of the bar top, cleaning a glass with a slowly smoldering rag, the ash spreading instead of being wiped away. The rest of the interior was a mix of ash and the smoldering remains of furniture, as well as a healthy sprinkling of dust. As Sans got closer to the bar, he watched the poor rag finally burst into a final flame before the ash fell to a small pile below, remnants of other rags. A flaming hand reached for another in a pile near him to begin the process again.

Sans made a note to try and remember to bring his old friend more rags, maybe by scavenging through an abandoned home. The bunnies were long gone, so they must have some right? That, or he had already gone through their homes, and would have to try another. It was hard to remember. 

Grillby still had his glasses, Sans noticed. Even though the rest of his clothing was burnt away in his absence of temperature control, he still had his glasses. A good sign. 

“ey Grillby.”

The flaming hands faltered a moment with the glass, but continued. The flame elemental didn’t even look up.

Sans leaned against the bar casually, all the while keeping an eye on his old friend. He scratched at his chin absentmindedly, watching smoke begin to rise from the doomed rag. 

“got a question for ya. y’ the best cook i know yeah? don’t tell Paps though.”

Grillby kept smearing ash on the glass, eyes focused. The mention of Papyrus used to make him smile. Oh well. Sans continued.

“recen’ly came inna possession of some bones, full o’ marrow ya know? we ain’t sure how to cook it though, so i though’ i’d ask ya.”

Grillby continued with the same cleaning motions, the rag still smoking. Sans didn’t push him, remembering the last time that had happened.

There was a reason why the bar was the only thing that wasn’t ash in the building.

After a long while, Grillby finally spoke, and Sans could’ve sagged to the floor in relief. There had been many a time where he hadn’t. 

“What… kind of…”

His voice was scratchy, having lost any kind of friendly tone when he had lost control over his rising temperature. It sounded like a smoker on death’s door would, with the added effect of said smoke flowing from his mouth with each word, further staining the ceiling.

The skeleton pulled out the two long bones from his pocket, rolling them between his own fingers. 

“finger bones.”

The flame elemental stopped his rag, slowly raking his eyes up to the skeleton. Sans began to sweat slightly. 

It wasn’t from the rising heat that came from Grillby focusing on him rather than keeping his temperature down as much as he could. 

It was because he remembered  _ just _ how brutal the ancient flame elemental could get. 

He watched as Grillby looked at his fingers and; finding them to all be accounted for,  _ slowly _ tilt his head, shoulders beginning to rise in agitation.

“....Pap...y..rus?”

Sans laughed, looking calm through years of practice.

“stars no!” He pretended to wipe a tear from his working eye. “‘ad leftovers from the las’ human tha’ fell. waste not want not ya know?”

Grillby slowly relaxed, and so did Sans after a moment. 

“......what’s…. in it….. for me?”

Sans’ perpetual grin widened. 

“‘m glad ya asked Grillbz. ya know i wouldn’ leave ya high ‘n dry.”

Grillby smiled, licking his lips with a tongue burning so hot that it glowed a blaring white, beginning to turn blue in his excitement. 

Sans opened a rift in the void, pulling out a monster that both were familiar with. 

Dogamy’s fur was no longer the snow white all the dogs were proud of, stained with remnants of blood and the grey of dust that he couldn’t reach by licking. His armor was rusted and missing in certain places, and his left leg was nothing but a stump barely protruding from his hip. The same treatment was done to his arms, leaving him only down to one limb. Foam dripped from his mouth, his one eye yellowed, and his once small mustache mangy and long. He was a shaking mess hanging from Sans’ hand and facing two salivating monsters. 

With a sinister smile, one that spoke of memory of past comradery, Sans dropped the dog monster to the floor. He stepped back, feeling the heat begin to climb in the building as Grillby’s form rippled and lost its form, lava-like drool dripping and burning holes in the already pitiful bar top as the flame elemental began to climb over it. His glasses began to warp, before falling to the floor. 

As Dogamy tried to push himself back with his remaining leg with a whimper, Sans called to him from the open doorway.

“this is pup-er payment for trying to eat my bro, doncha think mutt?”

As Sans shut the door behind him, he heard the remnants of his answering howl just before his head was engulfed in flames. 

The windows flashed with the heightened flames, one or two beginning to crack from the intense heat, and if there were any residents of Snowdin left watching this spectacle, they ducked down for cover. After about ten minutes though, the light died down, and Sans knew it was safe to return inside. 

Grillby was back behind his bar, another chunk of it missing, idly cleaning a new glass with a new rag. His glasses were tilted slightly to the right, but it didn’t seem that he minded. 

Sans sidestepped the pile of ash and burnt armor (none of it salvageable, he noticed), before going back up to his old friend. 

“so,” he paused, furrowing his nose hole at the smell of burnt fur, “ya got a recipe fo’ me?”

...Elsewhere, someone’s soul shuddered in immense pain, pain like she had never felt before, and Sans couldn’t help but think that he had forgotten something. 

Something important

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gore level: 7 for describing the burning of flesh and limb stumps 
> 
> I shih tzu not, I had too many doggone dog pun sites open for this chapter, and I didn’t use howl-dly any of them. Oh well, no need to terrier myself up about it.
> 
> This was originally a shorter chapter with two different parts, but it got away from me! I’m glad it did though, because it feels a lot better.
> 
> Thank you so much to everyone who has commented! It means a lot to me, and I totally do not read them while squealing and rolling on my floor. You have no proof!


	11. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans finds you things :)
> 
> Aren’t you happy? :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gore level: 5 for mentions of blood and flesh used in food, but this is old hat by now ;)
> 
> See end notes for a more detailed description

Sans had left to find a meal for his old friend. You knew this old song and dance. You knew where he was going, and why he had scrubbed himself down best he could before leaving. 

There was no telling how Grillby would react to the smell of a human after all.

When it was just you two; Papyrus loved to tell stories, even before you all had bonded. You still had to be out of his reach at that time, because even if you two were (tentative) friends, he would eat you without a second thought because “No one else would treat you right! So just jump in my heroic arms and I will save you!”

Thanks, but no thanks Papyrus.

But he liked that you kept him company, even from such an unreachable height (which was hard to do with him being so tall and his arms so long), and he liked that he could talk all he wanted to you. Sans, although he was a great listener when he actively focused on it, could lose his focus easily and have to be brought back to the conversation, sometimes making Papyrus forget what he was originally talking about. Other monsters, those that could still hold a conversation (what was left of the dog guard were a good example), didn’t exactly stay long to talk; knowing that Papyrus would probably kill them after the conversation, or his brother would (Sans just seemed to appear when the conversation came to a close, and you never figured out how he had such impeccable timing).

You also always looked happy to see him! It was one of the first times someone had actively been happy to hear him talk, and before he knew it, he was giving you hints and stories about how to survive Snowdin and its surrounding forest.

One of those was about Grillby.

Grillby, according to Papyrus, could no longer eat monster food, the lack of temperature restraint reducing it to ash before he could take more than a few bites. Because of this, the once kind restaurant owner was forced to do terrible things to keep himself alive. 

They all were, really. 

Grillby had to consume living subjects, Papyrus told you. When his restaurant was still open (it still was now, but not in a business sense), Red Bird had sat at the bar, one of the few people to brave the steadily climbing heat with a friendly smile to the bartender. He had trusted Grillby, they all did. That was the last day he had sat there, however, as Grillby, who had been watching the bird with heightening interest, had suddenly grabbed him by the throat as he was speaking and reduced his ramblings to choked screams. In one movement almost too quick to see, Grillby had taken a large bite of the bird’s chest. Feathers and blood erupted from the wound only to burn in midair leaving the lingering smell of a burnt meal.

As people began screaming and fleeing the bar and it’s rising temperature, only Sans was left to watch the liquid flames of spittle eat away at Red Bird’s body. Grillby was drooling magma as his mouth stretched in a wide, white smile; his eyes only on the soul hovering where he had bitten.

Sans could only meet eyes with the panicked bird who began to choke on his own dust, the flames eating away his flesh and further exposing his soul. And he could only watch as Grillby took one large bite of the upside down heart, both his clothes and the rest of Bird falling to the floor in a mix of dust and ash.

“Sans says that after that, he began cleaning the counter again. Unsanitary, if you ask me! Especially for an eatery.”

“‘e left ‘is ‘andprints in the wood. burned the res’ of that part away la’er. couldn’ stand to look a’ it.”

You had jumped where you were situated when Sans strolled out leisurely from between some trees, eye focused on where you were. He  _ always _ knew where you were, no matter how well you hid.

Sans tolerated you talking to his brother, more annoyed at the fact that you had evaded his axe for so long. It wasn’t often that a human lasted more than a week down here, yet here you were, happily living in the trees for a month (maybe longer? He couldn’t remember exactly…). 

Happily was a stretch, seeing as everyday you looked thinner and thinner, and your grip on the branches got shakier and shakier.

You wouldn’t be up there for much longer, and both brothers could practically  _ taste _ your flesh already.

Shaking your head to draw yourself out of your reverie, you watched Papyrus busy himself by grabbing what laundry was available. With a grunt, you took off the only clothes you were wearing (a sweater from when Sans was smaller), and handed it to his awaiting hand before you wrapped yourself in the couch blanket in an attempt to keep away the shivers. In a moment, your patchy jacket was draped over your front, and through chattering teeth, you sent your bondmate a smile.

Papyrus returned it, and headed out the front door, bundle of clothes under his arm. You wanted to remind him to start a fire in here; both to keep you warm and deter others from intruding through the chimney (it had happened once, never again), or at least to perhaps put you in his room, but you were… so… tired…

You were suddenly more nauseous than before… but it was a familiar feeling… littered with emptiness from when Sans…

When Sans opened a… a rip in… the void...

~

Sans came back to the house quite a bit later, double and triple checking his list of ingredients. All that this recipe really required was salt, but Grillby had mentioned that it would go really well spread on bread, so with that in mind; Sans had combed the Inn and Shop for anything that could be useful in this impromptu celebration. 

Whether or not he destroyed items he knew were sentimental to the dusted owners was up to debate. However, with what they had done to his family (well, to one member, but what was done to one, even if it was before they joined the family was something they took very seriously), he still didn’t regret anything he and Papyrus did to them. Even if the fur was a pain to pick from between his teeth. 

The shop had plenty of salt, some containers opened and others not. Sans grabbed all of them along with spices that he knew Papyrus would be grateful for. There wasn’t much to be found bread wise, but that was okay. He nabbed clothes from their closets, hoping they’d fit you. Knowing that you were tired of only wearing old clothes that couldn’t fit either him or his brother anymore, Sans had a feeling that you wouldn’t care if they didn’t quite fit you correctly. You’d just be grateful to have clothes that were yours again. He also found a recipe book under a fake floorboard; and it had the famous cinnabunnies recipe. Even if they didn’t have the ingredients for it, it was still a score. Papyrus would love it, and he could already picture his brother pouring over it for hours trying to memorize the instructions within.

Sans was feeling pretty good about his haul. It had taken him repeating the ingredients over and over again (he was lucky there were only a few) along with the steps to actually make the recipe.

Grillby had, in a moment of lucidity, offered to fast cook the bones for him, but Sans declined, telling him how much Papyrus would love to cook something for once since nothing had fallen in a while. Grillby had nodded, licking away the last specks of dust from his face, and Sans felt he made the right decision not telling him the truth.

That he didn’t trust his old friend not to burn what could help his human. 

And him of course, but he would be able to survive with a hole in his head. Unless something was done, you just wouldn’t be able to survive in general.

Which, from a survival standpoint; wasn’t ideal for anyone.

Sans stepped through the real front door, pulling magic to seal the house again. He could’ve sworn there was something he was forgetting…

The salt? No that was wrapped in a blanket.

The bones? In his pocket.

… Papyrus told him not to do something… what was it?

He dropped the ingredients on the kitchen table (he always put them in the wrong spot if he tried to put them away) and shuffled out into the living room. 

It was amazing being home. Out there, he had to puff himself out, always be on edge and watch for any monster that would not hesitate to dust what was left of him after… 

He shook his head. 

Best not to think of those things. Of things leading up to Before.

Just as his hand slowly lifted to pull at the edge of his socket, his eye light landed on your prone form on the couch. For a moment, he didn’t know who you were, or how you had gotten in. The front door should’ve stopped you, and since you were human; he and Papyrus would have been able to smell your blood from the spikes lying in wait beneath a trapdoor.

… Papyrus. Where was Papyrus?

His eye light slowly combed from the door, over the room, and back to you. Who were  _ you _ , coming inside his home? Who were you, possibly dusting his brother?

_ Who were you? _

He was in front of you now, observing you sleeping quietly. You’d even taken one of their blankets! The nerve!

...but why did his soul warm at the sight of you letting your guard down so fully in his home?

Wait. 

… where  _ was  _ his soul? A quick peak down what remained of his shirt confirmed that it wasn’t in his rib cage, yet he felt no panic. Instead, his soul felt content wherever it was, and there was a link to another two. Sans looked at you again, surprised to find his hand brushing some stray hair out of your face. 

He felt warm again when you sighed and tried to chase after it when he drew it back.

Were you naked under the blanket? Under your coat? Now that just wouldn’t do, especially since you were shivering. Now if only they had blankets- oh! There were some in his hand! When did they… get there?

Did he forget again? 

Sans’ eye light focused in on the bundle of blankets and things in his claws, filling and spinning slowly in his socket as he fought to remember.

Machine… alternates… Grillby…

…

The clothes! He found clothes! And it seemed like perfect timing too, as you were starting to turn blue. He was pretty sure that you weren’t supposed to do that. So, with that thought, he maneuvered you to sit up carefully, feeling a slight pang of guilt when you stirred at the loss of the blanket.

You blinked blearily at him, and Sans had to hold in a purr. It had to be illegal, being that cute even as you shivered pitifully.

“Sans?” He grunted in response, sliding some pants up your legs.

“How’d it,” as he lifted you to pull the pants over your butt, you yawned, and Sans could swear his soul pulsed where it rested despite it not being inside him. You tried again.

“How’d it go with Grillby?”

At your question he hummed, pulling a cozy looking sweater over your head despite your protests about being able to do it yourself. He could really only focus on one thing at a time after all.

“good. got stuff.”

“What kinda stuff?” You sounded excited, despite being exhausted. At that, he wrapped the ‘new’ blanket around your shoulders before gathering you into one arm. You grumbled, indignant, all the way to the kitchen despite the soft smile on your face when he nuzzled the top of your head with a deep purr. 

When Sans purred, it was something you could feel with your entire body. A deep rumble that originated from… somewhere overtook him, and it was a rare occurrence (if you took Papyrus for his word. In reality, the stocky brother purred whenever he was home and had you in his arms. Big softy.). 

The table held the evidence of his scavenging, and you looked over what he found. Some of it looked familiar…

“Are those from the bunnies?”

Sans was still purring, reveling in the proud feelings he could feel over the bond. Busy with nuzzling your hair and keeping you close, you surmised that the clothing that you were wearing and what was on the table was indeed from the departed bunny family, explaining why it actually somewhat fit you. 

True, when they were alive, they were quite large (for rabbits, you supposed) their height plus ears reaching an impressive head taller than you on average, but you were unsure if this was a side effect of what was going on or if they were originally just that tall.

You can still remember being harbored in the Inn under the pretense of wanting to “help” you. The taste of your own vomit as they covered your mouth to make sure you kept down what they had forced down your throat.

The subsequent tears falling down your face that they kept for salt.

Your eyes fell on the book the sisters had combed through while you were strapped to a chair, murmuring to each other about what food would regenerate what they were planning to harvest, to keep you as alive as possible. 

For as long as possible.

The sheets-made-ropes from the Inn had a distinctive feel to them, and you could still feel the soft fabric on your wrists, ankles, elbows, stomach and forehead in an attempt to keep you from turning away from them.

Or flinching as they cut into your skin. 

Your ears were filled with the sounds of frantic scribbling in that damned book as they discussed the dish they had just made, making notes and discussing different flavors. They also discussed the possibility of trading the dish for more supplies to experiment with making a more magic-infused food to balance out the soul power embedded in the meat.

They had uncontrollable giggles as they took another bite, seeming rejuvenated even as blood dripped from their maws. It was only then that they remembered you in your chair in the back of the room and they both came over with the pot pie in one giant hand, joking with each other as they scooped the last into your mouth, even as you gagged on the taste.

They had tutted at you. It didn’t even taste like you anymore! 

You swore you could still taste it though, and what made you gag wasn’t the taste.

It was the fact that you enjoyed it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gore level: 5 for flesh in food, and description of burning flesh, gagging on your own dust, and the consumption of a soul.
> 
> Hooo boy this chapter did not want to be written!! I keep wanting to get to writing the brothers in the basement but the horror brothers are just: no :) you focus on us now :)
> 
> Anyway, I’m going to be moving to another state sometime this month, so chapter might be a bit until I get that all sorted out. I hope everyone is doing okay in this wacky world of ours, and I hope you’re taking your meds!! That reminds me, I gotta take mine-
> 
> Also before someone points it out, Sans already had Dogamy in a “pocket void” of sorts for safe keeping for when food is really low. It takes a lot of energy (Your energy ;)) to open it and take something out/put it in, so he both doesn’t do it often and also forgets that it’s there. “But,” you say, “when things go in the void they disappear from existence!”  
> You’re right! ;)c


	12. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You feel, nothing at all really, and Sans doesn’t like it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gore level: 0! Zilch! Nada! Nothing to see here!
> 
> Hello! Sorry about the longish hiatus; with moving and the fact that this chapter just kept fighting me, things just took longer than usual. Hopefully this won’t be forever though! Thanks for sticking with this!

Papyrus had  _ just _ finished scrubbing the laundry with fresh snow when he felt it. 

Well, two “its.”

One was a rising panic on Sans’ end, and another was a complete and utter lack of, well,  _ anything _ on your end. 

It reminded him of when he had found you and he didn’t like that reminder one bit. 

So, grabbing the laundry (he couldn’t just  _ leave  _ it!) he scrambled back inside and hurriedly put the wards back up to find… Sans. You.

... _ Oh. _

With one glance at the table he could tell what had happened. Your eyes never faltered from the Bunny Recipe Book, even as your body shook with Sans’ worried rattling at a lack of, well,  _ you  _ in the bond. 

Carefully, as to not set either of you off, Papyrus put down the laundry, resolving to do it later (even as the squelch it let out made him flinch). He slowly crept into Sans’ field of vision, drawing that one eye light to him in a snap. 

“i-i didn’t-“ he clutched you close, and if he had skin over his knuckles, it would be white and strained. 

“I know,” Papyrus replied softly. “You couldn’t help this. It’s like one of your episodes, remember?” 

Sans paused, eye light constricting as he tried to piece together what he was told in his panic. His brother waited, patiently holding his stance in his hunched over position (it was  _ very _ uncomfortable! But that was okay).

Sans hugged you close, shoving his nasal ridge into your neck to try and ground himself. 

One large inhale, one shaky exhale. 

“did… did I-?”

“No,” Papyrus hurriedly put that thought to rest before it could spiral further. He looked at the table; the items spread around it, to you in clothes that belonged to ones who had brought you such hurt. 

A bit of the shirt had fallen, the original owner being wider in their upper body. A shoulder was peaking through, exposing scars of familiar sets of teeth. 

Oh dear.

He told Sans to bring you to the couch and his brother did it without a second thought, whispering into your neck broken apologies over and over and over. 

Once you two were out of sight, Papyrus took a second to sigh. The day had started out so well! 

But! It could still be salvaged, if he had anything to say about it. 

And he did. He had a lot to say about it. 

So with that in mind, he gathered the recipe book up and pulled up a floorboard that was loose before sliding it inside to rest with more horrible reminders. He tried not to glance at them, but his mind’s eye saw them anyway. His old phone (he thought he could hear it buzzing sometimes with messages never opened), a notebook full of scribbles (he refused to call it a language, much less a font), and now a Bunny Recipe Book; neat pages fading to rips and scrawled additions near the end. 

And as much as Papyrus felt it was a waste not to read it and memorize it, he slid the floorboard back in place. Standing up and making his way out of the kitchen, his eye lights (faded but still seeing!) landed on you and his brother, the latter trying to get you to actually see him when your eyes looked in that direction. 

A quick glance back to the hidden trove made Papyrus think of the book again, and the magic recipes he (and by extension the rest of his family) would be missing out on. But he’d keep it there for you, if only to keep the emptiness from your eyes and soul. 

He could only pray that you’d never have to be a part of a recipe again. That the bone marrow would be enough. It  _ had  _ to be. 

He didn’t know what he would do if it didn’t.

He knew what Sans would do, what he would become without your soul keeping his afloat.

What he would become without your warmth keeping him from becoming a mindless beast, only knowing hunger and the satisfaction of flesh in their jaws, fleeting as it would be.

Papyrus had seen many of his friends succumb to mindless animals, making a promise to himself to not let his brother become one. With that in mind, he sat himself on the faded sofa, legs stretching far in front of him. He reached for you and his brother, who hadn’t quite made it to the couch, and dragged the two of you to his arms, hushing Sans’ whimpers and rubbing circles into your arm. He held you both for a while, murmuring softly reassuring things; how you were safe, how you were warm, how you were loved. He kept his breathing even, hoping to get the message across to sync to it. His hand moved from your arm to your face, the back of his knuckles brushing against your cheek (he chose not to think about how he could never hold you, not really). 

Sans copied the motion, desperately trying to feel you through the bond again. 

Slowly, your eyes began to clear from that dead eyed stare to meet the worried sockets of your family. 

“Hey,” you rasped, mouth lifting to a tired smile. 

“Hey yourself, human,” Papyrus whispered. “Glad to have you back.”

You nuzzled into his hand, feeling him draw both you and his brother closer. 

“Glad to be back.”

Sans, overwhelmed by tiredness and the euphoria of feeling you again, whines and buried his face into your neck, clutching you desperately.

You looked at Papyrus as Sans muttered incoherently into your shoulder, coming to the same agreement. Going to separate rooms for the night could wait. You had everything you needed right here. 

~

Later that night, confident that everyone was sound asleep, Papyrus slipped from his position as the Biggest Spoon, his brother being the Medium one (and you being the smallest, most little of all spoons). 

Sans shifted slightly in sleep and Papyrus froze, but relaxed when he just pulled you closer with a grumble. Releasing a breath through where his nose would be (if he had one), Papyrus made his way to the kitchen without a sound, avoiding all floorboards that creaked which was a marvel, seeing as those were the majority. 

Carefully crouching (more than he already was), he stuck a talon where two floorboards meet and brought up the lid of a trove used prior. Carefully, he reached inside, grabbing the object that brought you so much pain. 

In the encompassing dark, (although skeleton monsters had no problem seeing in it) Papyrus brought the pages close to his face, and began to read. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus: I’m an avid reader! Look at how close I can hold this book to my face!


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gore level: 1/10 with eating bone marrow :)

“grillbz said it’d be good on toast.”

You nodded, not needing to remind him about the lack of said bread. Both Sans and you watched Papyrus cut clean through the prepared bone by jamming his thumb in it, the marrow then being scooped out onto a plate. A pinch of salt, and it was placed in front of you two, where you were situated on Sans’ lap, as he hadn’t let go of you that morning. 

Papyrus looked at the now empty bone pieces in his hand before shoving them in his mouth and chewing sparsely. It was an art really, being able to chew just enough before the magic faded to dust. It had its own properties, but bone was slightly more filling. 

And crunchy. 

Both brothers watched you bring the few bites to your mouth. Their sockets never left your lips as you chewed, following the line of your throat as you swallowed. It would be unnerving, it  _ was _ unnerving when it first happened, but now it felt comforting. They were watching out for you. Making sure you ate before they did. 

If that wasn’t what families did, what was? Especially in this cruel world, where every bite could be your last. 

The marrow had the consistency of a well churned butter, and you had to agree with Sans, it would go great on toast. You told him so, and he only pulled you closer. 

“And? How do you feel?” Papyrus sat across from you two, the other bone left on the counter as to not overwhelm you. 

You hummed. “I don’t-I think it’s too early to say? Give me a bit and we’ll see.”

Papyrus nodded, before taking your hand carefully, talons holding you so lightly you felt like a butterfly in his grasp. 

“You need to let us know if you feel anything. Anything at all.” You nodded, but he continued, eye lights laser focused on how small your hand was in his palms. 

“I mean it. The slightest fluctuation of mood; good or bad, an ache behind your eyes, you let us know.”

You squeezed his hand. “Promise Papy.”

He seemed like he wanted to say something else, but was satisfied enough with your answer. With that, he stood and placed the bone in a cupboard drawer, locking it and putting the key in a Layer only he could access. It was for everyone’s safety, as you all had experienced the feeling of losing yourself to hunger, eating everything you could, not caring about the fact that you had to ration in order to survive, your only thoughts on the all encompassing hunger.

Papyrus let both you and Sans (who still hadn’t let you go) know that he was off to check his traps, and to remind Sans of the deviation from the norm. 

Today he wasn’t to flip the switch as he did everyday, today he was to take the whole machine apart.

After all, they didn’t need to bring anyone in for quite some time if they played their cards right. 

So he brought you down in one arm, ready to disassemble the machine with the other. 

~

They took his brother’s finger. 

They took his brother’s  _ fucking finger.  _

It wasn’t even for information, some arcane method of torture that he was familiar with. Instead, they took it to  _ eat.  _ To fucking  _ consume his brother’s dust.  _ It made him sick to his stomach every time he thought about it, every time he looked towards Papyrus and his now missing middle finger. 

Sans swore, the moment that he could get out of these damn restraints, all of these fuckers were dead. Dead for what they did to Papyrus, dead for pulling them out of their universe. 

It wasn’t a cushy universe, unlike what it looked like some of his counterparts had, but it was  _ his.  _ And at least in his universe, they didn’t  _ fucking eat people.  _

_...Fuck.  _

The fucked up versions of him and Papyrus mentioned feeding their pet human their marrow. Where was their food? Why didn’t they just eat the human if they were so desperate? Instead of eating their own kind, or feeding it to their pet, why didn’t they-

_ Oh stars- _

His eye lights flickered out. He wasn’t completely serious in his thoughts of eating human, but now that he thought about their teeth, their claws, the predatory way that rivaled  _ himself in a LV induced stupor _ ; it all made sense. 

His universe sucked. He knew it. Papyrus knee it. It was common knowledge. But this place?

_ Fucking stars- _

He had to get out of here. He had to get his brother out of here. Fuck the others, in a  _ eat _ or  _ be eaten _ world, you could only worry about yourself. Yourself, and those closest to you. 

He and Papyrus knew this all too well. 

~

You didn’t know if it had to do with the marrow you consumed, but you  _ did _ feel better. You were still hungry (you practically associated it with being awake now), you were still tired, but you didn’t feel as weak as before. If Sans wasn’t so adamant about carrying you down the stairs, you would’ve tested your newfound strength to walk down there yourself. 

Speaking of the basement, you wondered what you would do with the skeletons pinned to the wall. They had to be kept somewhat healthy, their bones being the only thing that was keeping them alive, so it wouldn’t do to have them become discolored and brittle. You wouldn’t be able to do much food-wise, but water? Water you could do. 

So as Sans set you down to grab a hammer off the wall, you stopped him. 

“Could you get me some water Sans?” He hesitated just a moment, before moving to pick you up again. 

“No, it’s okay. I have my blanket. But they need the water yeah?” He looked at them critically. Why would they need water? 

You touched his face, bringing his focus back to you, that one eye light of his burning brightly as it swirled. 

“Water Sans. Maybe rekindle the fire while you’re at it?”

Your arm  _ was _ covered with goosebumps, the cold seeping in despite the brothers’ best efforts to keep it out. It was that thought that finally put him in motion, although he kept looking back at you every few steps to make sure you were really okay. 

The door shut, lock sliding in place (this  _ was _ the most secure place in the house), and you let out a breath. 

You spared a glance at the machine in the corner. As easy as it would be to let Sans destroy it, keeping the alternates here forever, you knew that it wasn’t the best decision. If you remembered anything from your time in school, alternate realities were fickle; something that could bring other ones down if you weren’t careful. 

It was all speculation, back Aboveground, but you had the proof right here, and you were taking no chances. 

You had already brushed too close to death more than once, and you’d prefer not to do it again, however futile that thought may be. 

With that in mind, you made your way over to one of the skeletons on the wall, the Sans one with pauldrons.

“I will remove your gag if you promise to stay quiet. We don’t have too much time, so I need you to cooperate. Nod if you understand.”

His eye lights blazed a blue so intense that it was almost white. He nodded. 

You removed his gag, quickly moving your fingers away, having dealt with people trying to take your fingers off before. 

He had the decency to try and not look insulted. After a moment of waiting to see if he would indeed start screaming despite your warning, you spoke again. 

“Do you have any experience with that machine?”

Everyone was watching you critically. You tapped him on the cheek to get him to focus. 

“I-I yes. I do. But it’s been a very long time.” 

“Too long to get it to bring you home?”

Now everyone had frozen, even the brother of the skeleton who’s finger you had eaten. 

“You… want to get us home? I thought-“

You interrupted him. This was taking too much time. “I don’t want to fuck with alternate universes. When you die here, because you  _ will die _ if you don’t go back, I don’t know what will happen to your universe, and if it’ll do anything to mine. I haven’t gotten this far in surviving in this hellhole just to throw it away because all of you decided to pull a lever at the same time.”

His slightly hopeful expression fell a bit. You would’ve felt bad if this were any other situation, if you  _ weren’t Underground, _ but if this place taught you anything, it was that guilt had no place here. Everything was in the name of survival, and it didn’t matter who you stepped on (or ate in your case) to keep yourself and your loved ones alive. 

“So.” He lifted his head again, watching as you scanned all of the skeletons on the wall. “Can any of you make it work?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UF Sans and dear reader are really starting to sound alike, huh?
> 
> Anyway, i wrote this chapter on the plane again (still got my own seat, but now the shops are all open and no ones respecting the six feet rule >:( but it’s fine-) and i have another in the works! As per usual, thank you so much to everyone who comments, i get so flustered and forget to reply sometimes, so know it’s not you, it’s me being an anxious idiot.
> 
> Anyway, do you have any thoughts on who we should release first?
> 
> also, I know that I made Blue the one that was sciencey of the two brothers. This is on purpose, as in my version of Underswap, it’s just the personalities that changed. Sans is still sciencey, and loves anything mechanical, but he also had the drive and ambition to drop it when Papyrus came into the picture. If you have any questions, feel free to drop by my tumblr (it’s under the same username) and ask!


	14. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You have a conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gore Level: 0!

The silence is deafening. You watched as they all looked between you and the machine, all of them beginning to produce magic sweat. 

Your fingers itched to gather it and give it to your skeletons. They couldn’t even produce sweat like that anymore, the excess magic needed not available. Because that’s what the sweat was; excess magic. 

How wasteful. 

The red Sans grunted at you, gesturing to the machine when you caught his eye. Your own narrowed. 

“I’m not stupid. We just mutilated your brother, and based on your own missing tooth, I’d wager you come from a world where an eye for an eye is taken literally.”

He began to sweat harder under your stare, and you grinned wickedly, displaying your sharpened teeth. His eye lights shrunk. 

“So you’re telling me none of you can definitely work this machine?”

Armored Sans spoke up again. “It’s creator… wasn’t exactly, well, forthcoming with its inner workings? Anything that I found out about it was from scraps of notes he left behind, and most of those are indecipherable, not just because he kept almost everything in his head, but also-“

“Because it’s in Wing Dings?” You pinched the bridge of your nose. Nothing could ever be simple here could it? You felt a questioning lilt in your bond. 

Papyrus. 

He sensed your worry, your frustration, and his own questioning had made Sans aware of the difference in your soul’s state, even with the measures you had taken to mask it. 

Papyrus was just too observant for his own damn good. 

You quickly moved to put the gag back on the skeleton in front of you. He began to protest, but hushed when you both began to feel the static that signaled a shortcut. 

Sans was back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UF sans: i bite my thumb at thee   
> Reader: my teeth are sharper than yours idiot
> 
> Hello everyone!
> 
> First of all, I'd like to apologize for this short chapter after such a long time, but it will make sense, i promise.  
> Second, I'd like to apologize for the wait for a new chapter. I don't want to get into too many details, but I have lost a total of two people close to me in this covid craziness, with another's health on the decline after a period of good health. I also had to get things situated as I moved to another state during this spike in covid cases, and find a job.   
> At the moment I'm kind of at a loss of what I want to do with my life. 2020 has taken a lot from everyone, I know this, and I don't want to make it sound like I'm asking for pity. I just thought you all deserved an explanation for my absence.  
> I don't know when another chapter will come, as I'm trying to focus on what I'll do next when it comes to my life. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and commenting, i look at the well wishes and keep them close. I appreciate every one of your comments, but I haven't been in the right mindset to answer them. So please don't think I'm ignoring you if I don't reply, I'm just trying to piece myself together right now.
> 
> Thank you again for reading, and I hope you stay safe.

**Author's Note:**

> Welp! Made it to all I got! :’D
> 
> If you wanna see more stuff relating to this fic, or others I got, hit up my tumblr! It’s under the same name as my user here, just to make it easy lol
> 
> https://leftestmostsock.tumblr.com/
> 
> Art!  
> Ref of the bro’s, done by me! https://66.media.tumblr.com/b518b25bf551a59d409a43a63a714968/aec1645cdd3fe24f-90/s1280x1920/23ec55b92ab77469a3c7cd4cd417bba40bd2000d.jpg


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